Matheus França 2022: The next star out of Flamengo’s youth academy – scout report

While stars like Vini Jr., Paquetá, and Bruno Guimarães begin to perform among the world’s best, the attention shifts to the next generation of Brazilian talent. One of the most promising players in this group is 18-year-old Matheus França, from Flamengo. Although he hasn’t had many opportunities in the senior team, Matheus has certainly impressed in Flamengo and Brazil’s youth teams, getting on the radar of the likes of Real Madrid and Man City.

Unlike Vini Jr. or Paquetá, Matheus França’s talent is not seen through his flair or dribbling. In his youth career, França’s goal involvement and attacking output have been very good and fairly consistent, and his awareness and intelligence are the main factors behind this success. In this scout report, we conduct a tactical analysis to determine what makes Matheus França such an exciting prospect. More specifically, we look at França’s tendencies and characteristics to determine his strengths, areas to improve, and what kind of tactics he would best fit in.

Positioning

Matheus França is a rather versatile player, being able to play anywhere in attack. The Brazilian has great speed and can certainly play on the wing as he did in his youth career. Being right-footed, he would often feature on the left-wing cutting inside. However, he is most effective through the centre. Whether as a false-nine or a more attacking number 10, Matheus is able to dictate the attack and constantly create space and chances. His career heatmap below illustrates his versatility, filling nearly all of the attacking third.

As noted, Matheus França’s game is built around his intelligence. Through his movements, vision, awareness, and more, he is able to be very effective in the attack. In this analysis, we will break down his tendencies throughout different phases of the game to illustrate how he plays and why he is so effective.

Progression

Matheus França plays a key role in connecting the midfield to the attack. His involvement is the glue that has allowed his teams to attack with success. While playing as a centre-forward or attacking midfielder, Matheus will find gaps within the defensive organisation to receive the ball before progressing it further. His ball progression map below illustrates how he receives the ball deeper into the midfield and progresses it into the final third.